So Anscombe's provocative claim with which this entry began — that the two major traditions in modern moral theory (Kantianism and utilitarianism) have ignored questions of virtue and character to their detriment — does not seem altogether true.
As indicated in the introduction to this entry, a renewed philosophical interest in questions of virtue and character was indirectly the result of the publication in 1971 of John Rawls's A Theory of Justice.
Throughout the late 1320s and into the 1330s Chatton became increasingly interested in questions of virtue and vice, the objects of moral acts, and the role of intentions in ethics.[8] Much of what he says follows or agrees with Scotus and opposes Ockham.
"Questions of virtue thus inevitably allude to a social hierarchy that was generally accepted as a reflection of the hierarchy of creation, an order in nature or of nature, instituted not fortuitously but providentially, and therefore not subject to alteration by human beings," (Jordan 1990, 21).
For once, the usual New York formula had to be turned right around: a question of virtue had to be disguised as a necessity of commerce.
Shot in rich black and white by Nestor Almendros, this is a movie fueled by conversation and heady discussion of freedom of choice, the evidence for God's existence, and of course, the question of virtue.
It was certainly gritty, brutal and lavish with the ladyflesh; but between the bedrooms and the shoot-outs, it delved into questions of loyalty, virtue and justice, coming up with no simple answers, and confronting topical issues - including racism and police brutality - without flinching.
In engaging with questions of rhetoric, virtue, knowledge, and justice, Socrates' philosophical life was engaged with the political even before his death (his trial and execution at the hands of the Athenian democratic regime) embattled him with it.
This task is especially difficult with regard to questions of artificial virtues, such as justice, since so many people are involved, and since the social benefits of these virtues can be expected only from (possibly tong-term) collective action (ECPM 82 83).
So far in this series I've considered evil as if it were an individual matter – a question of personal virtue, or the lack of it.
The consensus ends, however, on the question of what virtue entails.
